Tagged: Manny Parra

Brewers In Agreement With Gorzelanny

Tom Gorzelanny

Tom Gorzelanny, owner of one of the best “pitching faces” in baseball.

Well, it looks like the Brewers and Doug Melvin and finally found a left-handed relief pitcher for the 2013 bullpen.

Following the non-tender of Manny Parra, the Brewers had been connected closer with a trio of left-handers (Sean Burnett, Mike Gonzalez, J.P. Howell) and were basically mentioned when talking about any of the other free agent lefties available.

This morning’s news from Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt would appear to tie a bow on those proceedings. The bow could be untied, of course, if Gorzelanny fails his physical.

The team hasn’t yet announced the deal which they cannot do until the physical is complete per Major League Baseball’s rules. The announcement is expected to happen on Friday.

Gorzelanny, 30, offers the ability to be more than just a LOOGy, something which Ron Roenicke has noted he prefers in the past. He has stated that he doesn’t want a lefty just to have a lefty, and the feel of using up a spot in the bullpen on a specialist doesn’t jive with that idea. The aforementioned Parra was thought to be able to fill that role given his ability and repertoire on the mound but proved ineffective and inconsistent.

As with many left-handers, perhaps Gorzelanny has taken a while to find his best role and really come into his ability. As a full-season starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates at the age of 24, Gorzelanny had a strong season but hadn’t been able to duplicate those results, let alone better them, until his full-time switch to the bullpen in 2012. (Okay, so he started one game on October 2nd to help allow the Nationals to best set their postseason rotation but 44 out of 45 appearances out of the bullpen is full-time enough for me.)

In 2012, Gorzelanny posted a 4-2 record with a 2.88 ERA and one Save. In his 44 bullpen appearances he struck out 57, walked 28, gave up 61 hits in 68.1 innings, good for a 1.302 WHIP. Gorzelanny held left-handed hitters overall to a .237/.298/.398 (.687 OPS) and a .298 wOBA. As mentioned before, he wasn’t a slouch against right-handers either, holding them to a .245/.343/.397 (.740 OPS) and a .326 wOBA. The biggest disparity is the on-base against righties. That’s in large part to his drastically increased walk rate against them. He walked right-handed hitters twice as often as lefties in 2012.

The other thing Gorzelanny offers is a bit of coverage for the rotation should the need for a spot-start arise. He has started for the majority of his career but certainly appears much more suited to the bullpen. But he has the ability to go multiple innings which is another quality that Roenicke appreciates in his relievers. In fact, Gorzelanny recorded more than just three outs in over half (23-of-44) of his relief appearances last season.

We don’t know the money yet, but assuming that Gorzelanny realized he wasn’t going to get the same kind of contract signed by Burnett with the Angels, it shouldn’t be a figure which hamstrings the Brewers in any way.

Therefore, for now, I’ll say that this signing makes a ton of sense for the Brewers and should help everyone forget about the repeated poor bullpen performances of 2012.

***UPDATE: The following tweet came from FOXSports.com’s Jon Morosi regarding a dollar amount for Gorzelanny.***

Gorzelanny made $3 million in 2012 and $2.1 million in 2011 as a member of the Washington Nationals for the last two years so this dollar amount sounds fair.

***UPDATE 2: Full contract value breakdown was tracked down by Tom Haudricourt***

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Assuming the deal becomes official, Gorzelanny will fill the only currently open slot on the Brewers’ 40-man roster.

Winter Meetings Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

2012-Winter-Meetings-logoThe Winter Meetings aren’t officially underway just yet as I sit down to give my keyboard a workout this evening, but the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee is set and baseball executives from across North America have checked into their rooms and have no doubt begun to follow up on things begun prior to departing for Music City.

Doug Melvin is there (along with his entourage) and has had plenty to say about what he expects out of the 2012 Winter Meetings. With appreciation to the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel for the quotes themselves, I’ll be laying out some things Melvin said and analyzing what I think they mean for the Brewers heading through the rest of the off-season.

Before I do that, let’s recap the basics about what educated fans know already about the Brewers and their needs.

Bullpen

John AxfordThe bullpen was bad in 2012. In fact, it underperformed so incredibly that it alone could be labeled as a singular reason that the team failed to reach the postseason. Just a handful of losses flipped to wins and the Brewers would have had that opportunity to face the Braves in the first-ever National League Wild Card Game.

As a result of their collective struggles, the bullpen has been basically gutted. Gone are multi-year Brewers like Kameron Loe, Francisco Rodriguez, Tim Dillard, Mike McClendon, and Manny Parra. Along with them, first-year tryouts for Jose Veras and Livan Hernandez ended in free agency. Even short-term fixes like Vinnie Chulk came and went. The only guys left who pitched in the big league bullpen to end the regular season and are still a part of this organization are likely closer John Axford, likely setup man Jim Henderson, and the finally healthy Brandon Kintzler.

As we all know, the Brewers did announce a trade acquisition on Saturday when they dealt a minor-league outfielder for established relief pitcher Burke Badenhop. That addition still leaves three jobs to be filled. FoxSports.com’s Jon Morosi already tweeted earlier this evening about one of those open roles:

Just some names to know.

Starting Pitching

Yovani GallardoThe Brewers got good performances for the most part from the men who took the ball every fifth day during the year but there is a lot of flux possible in what was left at the end.

A return of all five starting pitchers from the 2011 NLCS team was seen as a rarity, not to mention that the Brewers only used six starting pitchers all that season. Now? Randy Wolf was released, Shaun Marcum is a free agent, Zack Greinke was traded, and Chris Narveson is coming off of shoulder surgery.

That’s the stuff of how question marks are made.

Yovani Gallardo is set to return atop the rotation but after that hasn’t yet been decided. As it stands right now, the Brewers have probably six arms vying for the open four spots in the rotation. Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson, Wily Peralta, Mark Rogers and, to a lesser extent in my opinion, Tyler Thornburg.

Doug Melvin has mentioned a couple of free agent starters by name this off-season already (Edwin Jackson and Ryan Dempster, for the record) but had some commentary on that front as well.

Offense

ryan-braunWhile the starting offense can be returned completely intact, the bench will need addressing and a couple of decisions need to be made.

Will Jean Segura begin the season as the starting everyday shortstop in Milwaukee or in the aforementioned city of Nashville as he gets a bit more seasoning in Triple-A? Who will take over as the backup infielders after the Brewers burned through a number of MLB veterans during 2012? Travis Ishikawa is gone, Alex Gonzalez is a free agent after being hurt most of the season, Mat Gamel should be healthy but missed a ton of at-bats and doesn’t really have a job at this point…and that’s just the infield.

In the outfield, Nyjer Morgan was released and Logan Schafer seems incredibly obvious to become the fourth outfielder with Milwaukee. After that, though, will they carry a fifth outfielder? If so, who will it be?

About the only spot on the field where there isn’t a question is behind the plate. Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado are healthy and coming off of strong seasons.

Excuse whilst I knock on some wood.

Okay. With that, let’s get to those quotes from Melvin.

dougmelvinThe big quote is one about payroll. After setting a franchise record in 2012 with a payroll north of $100 million, the Brewers finished in the red, meaning that they actually lost money this year. (Part of that is because the fans didn’t show up quite as well as they had budgeted for, but wins bring attendance.)

Melvin said, “(The payroll is) coming down. We’ll probably look at (an opening payroll) of $80 million or thereabouts. We want to keep flexibility in case players become available.”

In other words, despite a large chunk of money coming off the books there should be no expectation of a dollar-for-dollar reassignment. That could limit how much the Brewers can do in free agency but it will almost certainly limit the magnitude of what the Brewers can do.

That assumes that Melvin sticks to his initial words, but more on that in a bit.

Melvin was clear in that the Brewers don’t plan to get involved on high-end (in terms of years or dollars) relief pitchers.

“We’re not looking at those kinds of guys. We’d probably be reluctant to go three years with anybody. We might have to do two. David Riske was our last three-year deal for a reliever. That didn’t work out,” said Melvin.

Would left-handed reliever Sean Burnett be a pipe-dream then? Burnett had to debunk a rumor that he was seeking a four-year deal but that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking for three.

The starting rotation was mentioned earlier and was brought up to Melvin as well. He stated that with how the contracts worked out with Jeff Suppan and Randy Wolf that the Brewers “wouldn’t go three years with a starter. You look at those contracts and they don’t usually work out. Look at all the free-agent players who have been traded the last few years. Free agency gets people excited, but it’s not as effective as people would like to think.”

Does that mean that following a report which I linked to on Twitter the other day that the Brewers are taking themselves out of the market for the aforementioned Jackson and Dempster, both of whom are believed to be seeking deals of a minimum three years? Perhaps.

Melvin stated that the Brewers will probably go with some of their younger players in the rotation but that he understands the dangers of trusting a small sample size.

josh hamiltonAs for the offense, Melvin admitted (as reported in this space) that contact was made between him and Josh Hamilton’s agent Michael Moye, but Melvin also said that, “I don’t see (a big-ticket signing) happening. If it does, we’d have to be creative with something.”

Melvin added, “You never know how those things work out. I never thought we’d be able to get Aramis Ramirez last year (for what they signed him for). Things change. If major things happen, you have to be prepared to act quickly.”

In other words, Melvin is reminding everyone that you simply can’t use definitives when discussing transactions in Major Leage Baseball. Or, to go the cliched route…Never say never.

Finally, for the bench, Melvin said that they’re in the market “mostly for depth.” He stated that they “may have to go with some of our younger guys” but that “it’s always nice to have an experienced bat on the bench.”

And since a lot of you have reached out via social media as to why I haven’t pass along many rumors in the last few days, Melvin confirmed that he has made no offers to any free agents yet and, as of the time he said so out loud, he didn’t have any serious trade talks going either.

Then again, he’s in Nashville now at the Winter Meetings. It’s made for just those kinds of things.

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Stay tuned all week for reaction and analysis to anything and everything that I hear or read related to the Brewers. I’ll pass it along just as soon as I can.

My suggestion? If you aren’t on Twitter or you are and don’t follow me @BrewerNation…now’s one of the best times of the year to take the plunge. I can’t always blog right away but tweeting is much easier to do on the fly.

Brewers Non-Tender Parra

manny parra

The Milwaukee Brewers announced today that they will not be tendering a contract to Manny Parra in advance of tonight’s deadline to do so. This mean that Parra, 30,  will become a free agent tomorrow.

The writing has been on the wall, as they say, for some time regarding the likelihood of this move. I wrote about it earlier this week (which you can read here: http://wp.me/p1wIvV-98Nx) and said that Parra was the likely guy to be in trouble.
No doubt exists that Doug Melvin attempted to trade Parra once they knew that they wouldn’t be tendering him a contract, but the same reasons that the Brewers used to justify cutting ties are the same reasons that every other team would use to not give something up for him.

  • He’s been inconsistent.
  • He’s arbitration-eligible (third time) this off-season which means he’s due a significant enough raise this off-season despite his mediocre performance.

The Brewers have shown a ton of patience with Parra in the hopes that he would develop into at least a capable bullpen option who could be used in more than just LOOGy situations after he floundered in the rotation.

That being said, Parra has been an overall success story in a manner of speaking for the Brewers. Originally a 26th round draft pick, those aren’t the kinds of guys you usually expect to reach the major leagues let alone have any kind of discernible impact.

As for the situation his non-tendering leaves the Brewers in? They now have no left-hander in the bullpen again (just as in 2011). The 40-man roster will now stand at 38 with Parra’s forthcoming departure.

There are also currently four jobs up for grabs in the Brewers’ bullpen. Only John Axford, Jim Henderson, and Brandon Kintzler are set to return from 2012’s group.

***MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy spoke with Manny Parra about the non-tendering. Some highlights follow but for McCalvy’s full column with all of Parra’s quotes, click here.***

“I prepared myself for it, so more than anything I’ll miss being considered a Brewer, because I’ve been one for so long,” he said. “Not only that, but I have so much respect for Doug [Melvin] and Gord [Ash] and the way they do things. They’ve given me so many opportunities.

“At the same time … being a starter — a failed starter, in my opinion — I feel like no matter what I did, I was always being compared to what kind of a starter I was. … I’m excited to move on and improve and be a better player.

“I was never able to let it go,” he said. “I just beat myself up a lot. … I’m really trying to change the way I think.”

“I just keep telling myself I’m a late bloomer. I always have been in my life. I’m 30 years old now, but I’m just going to remain positive and believe that I’m going to keep getting better. What else can you do?”

He added: “I like the idea of being able to sick with the organization you were drafted by for as long as you can and reward them for giving me the opportunities. But there comes a time when you have to move on, and this is it.”

 

Hot Stove Report: Non-Tender Deadline Looms

Midnight EST on Friday is the next milestone in the off-season as all teams must decide whether to tender contracts to players under team control but who do not have a fixed contract value for 2013. This can lead to arbitration, to long-term contract talks, to a simple one-year deal or possibly even to a trade. Player who aren’t tendered become free agents and can sign with any team.

Often times a player is non-tendered because his cost outweighs his value. Non-tendered players are free to re-sign with their original team. This occurs to reduce cost associated with a player’s years of arbitration eligibility.

The Brewers began the off-season with a handful of non-tender candidates. Nearly all of them have since been designated for assignment and subsequently released (or they refused a minor-league assignment with the same effect). The Brewers do have a relatively high-profile non-tender candidate remaining, however…

Manny Parra.

Eventually a well-regarded prospect after being taken in the 26th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft back in 2001, Parra is now a 30-year-old southpaw relief pitcher who doesn’t exactly get left-handed hitters out like he should if he were to focus his efforts.

It can be accurately stated that over the course of his career Parra fares better against lefties than he does against right-handed hitters. This is reflected in his career splits of .267/.349/.417/.766 against .290/.371/.438/.809. It’s also accurate that in his first season where he only pitched out of the bullpen, Parra beat his career averages.

Therein lies the question which must be answered by Doug Melvin et al. Should Parra become a LOOGy and, if so, how much is he worth (financially) in that role?

Parra has had a bit of relative success against right-handed hitters when you compare him to a “standard” LOOGy. What you have to ask yourself if you’re Melvin is whether Parra is consistently successful enough to continue to warrant a role where he faces multiple hitters are varying handedness in a given appearance.

I personally don’t think so and I would completely understand if Melvin and field manager Ron Roenicke altered Parra’s role in 2013…assuming he’s with the team.

That’s the other question. If Parra, who is arbitration-eligible, isn’t worth the usual increase by way of the arbitration process. This is Parra’s second year of arbitration eligibility. Parra made $1.2 million in 2012* which isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things. With the premium on bullpen arms, especially given that it could be argued that Parra has added value in that some might feel he could still start games, a 2013 salary of $1.75 million or more wouldn’t shock me.

So Parra isn’t as pressing of an issue as Jose Veras, Kameron Loe, and Nyjer Morgan were, for example. Each of those players were projected for new salaries of over $2.5 million. In other words, if the Brewers decide to keep Manny Parra for 2013, it works financially on its own merit. Putting everything together though with production determining value for that cost is what Melvin and company are no doubt weighing.

The other thing to note about the non-tender deadline is that there will be players released by other teams, some of which might be appealing to the Brewers. It could be a cheaper way to fill some of these bullpen roles which currently stand open for Milwaukee. If they do cut ties with Parra (and then don’t bring him back) the Brewers really only have three players currently in the bullpen. They are John Axford, Jim Henderson, and Brandon Kintzler.

They’ll need help. They’d do well for at least one piece of the help to throw the pill with his left hand. Will that be Parra? Stay tuned.

*Source: Baseball-Reference.com

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See Previous Hot Stove Reports:

Individual and Franchise Milestones (Mostly) Attainable in 2013

STATISTICS CURRENT THROUGH COMPLETION OF PLAY ON: 4/19/2013

This column will first be publicized automatically via my 30,000th tweet on Twitter. Even though I had begun compiling this information a couple of weeks ago, I was going to wait until closer to the regular season to post these numbers. This was in an effort to not waste time or column space on players who ended up not being with the Brewers come the start of Spring Training.

But with the aforementioned milestone tweet bearing down on me, I felt it appropriate to make this post coincide.

I will keep this space updated* throughout the season with current 2013 totals as the players listed work toward the attainable milestones. Should a player achieve a milestone, I will list it and the date it was achieved and (if appropriate) list the next milestone on the statistical path which the player could achieve.

So bookmark this one folks and refer back to it as often as necessary throughout 2013. This information will appear on the individuals’ “Brewers By the Jersey Numbers” previews as well.

Without further adieu, here are the major players on the Brewers who have milestones in front of them which should be attainable in the 2013 regular season.

Ryan Braun

Perennial all-star Ryan Braun achieved his first two milestones of the season on Friday, April 19th against the Chicago Cubs. He collected the 2000th base of his career on a first inning home run. The three RBI from that homer also moved him into a sixth-place tie on the all-time list with former Brewer Prince Fielder.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Best Season
R 700 614 7 79 113
H 1250 1089 12 149 203
TB 2250 1976 27 247 356
2B 250 223 3 24 45
3B 30 29 0 1 7
HR 250 202 4 44 41
RBI 750 643 13 94 114
SB 150 126 1 23 33
BB 350 305 9 36 63
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 661 614 40 Geoff Jenkins 5
H 1144 1089 43 Ben Oglivie 7
TB 2175 1976 172 Jim Gantner 5
2B 262 223 36 Jim Gantner 5
3B 30 29 1 Rickie Weeks 7
HR 208 202 2 Gorman Thomas 4
RBI 685 643 29 Ben Oglivie 5
SB 136 126 9 Tommy Harper 4
BB 320 305 6 Dave Nilsson 17

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Aramis Ramirez

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Best Season
R 1000 965 1 34 99
H 2000 1959 5 36 181
TB 3500 3452 8 40 333
2B 450 423 3 24 50
3B 25 22 0 3 4
HR 350 342 0 8 38
RBI 1250 1227 2 21 119
SB 30 25 0 5 9
BB 550 545 2 3 74
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 175 92 82 Matt Mieske 50
H 331 171 155 Scott Podsednik 50
TB 518 308 202 3-way tie 49
2B 61 50 8 2-way tie 50
3B 9 3 6 4-way tie 50
HR 34 27 7 3-way tie 48
RBI 159 105 52 Lyle Overbay 50
SB 25 9 16 2-way tie 49
BB 126 44 80 Glenn Braggs 50

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Corey Hart

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 550 529 0 21 91
H 1000 950 0 50 164
TB 1750 1689 0 61 293
2B 250 211 0 39 45
3B 35 33 0 2 9
HR 175 154 0 21 31
RBI 550 508 0 42 102
SB 100 83 0 17 23
BB 300 269 0 31 51
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 567 529 38 Ben Oglivie 10
H 996 950 46 Prince Fielder 12
TB 1825 1689 136 Don Money 9
2B 215 211 4 Don Money 8
3B 38 33 5 Jim Gantner 4
HR 160 154 6 Paul Molitor 10
RBI 524 508 16 B.J. Surhoff 13
SB 102 83 19 B.J. Surhoff 11
BB 290 269 21 John Jaha 22

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Jonathan Lucroy

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 150 115 5 30 46
H 300 285 13 2 114
TB 500 421 21 58 168
2B 50 42 0 8 17
3B 10 5 1 4 4
HR 50 28 2 20 12
RBI 150 143 9 2 59
SB 15 10 0 5 4
BB 100 69 4 27 29
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 175 115 55 Matt Mieske 50
H 331 285 33 Scott Podsednik 50
TB 518 421 76 3-way tie 49
2B 61 42 19 2-way tie 50
3B 9 5 3 4-way tie 50
HR 34 28 4 3-way tie 48
RBI 159 143 7 Lyle Overbay 50
SB 25 10 15 2-way tie 49
BB 126 69 54 Glenn Braggs 50

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Rickie Weeks

So far this season, Rickie Weeks has surpassed Greg Vaughn for 12th place in total bases in Brewers history. Next up on the list is Gorman Thomas.

Weeks has also tied Ben Oglivie for 6th place on the all-time franchise list for Walks with 432.

Weeks collected the 1500th total base in his MLB career with a double on Friday, April 19th against the Cubs at Miller Park.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 650 608 9 33 112
H 1000 867 12 121 175
TB 1500 1481 15 0 302
2B 175 164 4 7 32
3B 40 30 0 10 7
HR 150 130 1 19 29
RBI 400 377 3 20 83
SB 125 116 2 7 25
BB 450 427 6 17 78
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 621 608 4 Ryan Braun 6
H 950 867 71 Corey Hart 13
TB 1635 1481 135 Gorman Thomas 11
2B 172 164 5 Gorman Thomas 15
3B 33 30 3 2-way tie 5
HR 133 130 2 Richie Sexson 14
RBI 385 377 5 Rob Deer 21
SB 126 116 8 Ryan Braun 5
BB 440 427 7 Don Money 5

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Norichika Aoki

Aoki began the season tied for 41st place in stolen bases with Craig Counsell, but has surpassed Geoff Jenkins, Rob Deer and Dante Bichette in the team’s all-time rankings, and is currently tied in 35th place with Pedro Garcia and John Jaha. Next up, Sixto Lezcano who has 34 steals as a Brewer.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 100 81 9 10 81
H 200 150 18 32 150
TB 500 225 28 247 225
2B 50 37 4 9 37
3B 10 4 0 6 4
HR 25 10 2 13 10
RBI 100 50 5 45 50
SB 50 30 3 17 30
BB 100 43 7 50 43
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 175 81 85 Matt Mieske 50
H 331 150 163 Scott Podsednik 50
TB 518 225 265 3-way tie 49
2B 61 37 20 2-way tie 50
3B 9 4 5 4-way tie 50
HR 34 10 22 3-way tie 48
RBI 159 50 104 Lyle Overbay 50
SB 34 30 1 Sixto Lezcano 34
BB 126 43 76 Glenn Braggs 50

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Martin Maldonado

Martin Maldonado collected the 100th base of his career on Monday, April 8th with a 5th inning single off of Edwin Jackson.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 50 22 1 27 22
H 100 62 4 34 62
TB 100 95 6 0 95
2B 25 9 2 14 9
3B 5 0 0 5 0
HR 25 8 0 17 8
RBI 50 30 3 17 30
SB 5 1 0 4 1
BB 25 17 0 8 17
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 175 22 152 Matt Mieske 50
H 331 62 265 Scott Podsednik 50
TB 518 95 417 3-way tie 49
2B 61 9 50 2-way tie 50
3B 9 0 9 4-way tie 50
HR 34 8 26 3-way tie 48
RBI 159 30 126 Lyle Overbay 50
SB 25 1 24 2-way tie 49
BB 126 17 109 Glenn Braggs 50

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Carlos Gomez

Gomez drove in the 200th run of his career on Sunday, April 7th.

A solo home run on April 19th moved Gomez into a four-way tie at 48th all time in Brewers history.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
R 300 291 8 1 79
H 500 482 17 1 149
TB 1000 741 27 232 208
2B 100 83 2 15 24
3B 25 22 1 2 7
HR 50 44 2 4 19
RBI 250 198 5 47 59
SB 150 130 1 19 37
BB 125 107 1 17 25
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
R 175 147 20 Matt Mieske 50
H 331 232 82 Scott Podsednik 50
TB 518 389 102 3-way tie 49
2B 61 41 18 2-way tie 50
3B 11 10 0 4-way tie 40
HR 34 32 0 3-way tie 48
RBI 159 99 55 Lyle Overbay 50
SB 77 71 5 Cecil Cooper 14
BB 126 52 73 Glenn Braggs 50

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Yovani Gallardo

With his first appearance this season, Gallardo tied Dave Bush for appearances as a Brewer. With his third, Gallardo tied Dan Kolb at 154 games with Milwaukee. Up next, is Scott Karl at 155 games.

***Gallardo’s made the 150th of his career on Sunday, April 7, 2013.***

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 75 69 1 5 17
G 175 151 4 20 33
GS 150 148 4 0 33
CG 5 4 0 1 2
SHO 5 3 0 2 2
IP 1000.0 916.1 22.1 61.1 207.1
K 1000 936 15 49 207
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
W 81 69 11 Bill Wegman 6
G 155 151 0 Scott Karl 39
GS 156 148 4 Jaime Navarro 10
CG 5 4 1 4-way tie 37
SHO 4 3 1 2-way tie 15
IP 944.0 916.1 5.1 Jerry Augustine 12
K 1081 936 130 Teddy Higuera 2

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John Axford

John Axford’s first three strikeouts in 2013 pushed him ahead of Pete Vukovich on the all-time list in Brewers history. Axford has since broken a three-way tie in 36th place with Bob Wickman and Shaun Marcum. In 35th place is Bill Parsons with 280 K.

Axford’s eight games played in 2013 have now moved him all the way up to 18th on the all-time Brewers list of games played. This year he has broken his tie with Ray King (206), and surpassed both Chris Bosio (212) and Teddy Higuera (213).

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 25 15 0 10 8
G 250 206 8 36 75
SV 125 106 0 19 46
IP 250.0 208.2 7.1 34.0 73.2
K 300 264 9 27 93
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
W 17 15 2 2-way tie 50
G 212 206 4 Derrick Turnbow 17
SV 133 106 27 Dan Plesac 1
IP 331.0 208.2 115.0 Gene Brabender 50
K 280 264 7 Bill Parsons 35

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Chris Narveson

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 50 26 0 24 12
G 100 95 2 3 37
GS 75 63 0 12 28
CG 5 0 0 5 0
SHO 5 0 0 5 0
SV 5 0 0 5 0
IP 500.0 394.2 2.0 103.1 167.2
K 400 326 0 74 137
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
W 28 26 2 Skip Lockwood 32
G 132 90 40 2-way tie 50
GS 70 62 8 Don August 33
CG 3 0 3 11-way tie 45
SHO 1 0 1 28-way tie 36
SV 4 0 4 2-way tie 49
IP 396.1 385.1 9.0 Lew Krause 41
K 321 314 7 Ricky Bones 29

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Marco Estrada

In his first start of the season, Estrada struck out eight hitters. Those sent him flying past Mike Fetters and then Chuck Crim into a tie at 41st on the Brewers’ all-time list with Lary Sorensen. With his next 13 strikeouts over two starts, Estrada overtook Ben McDonald (256) and sits one shy of Pete Vukovich in 39th place.

Estrada’s four strikeouts on April 19th against the Cubs moved him ahead of Vukovich in 39th place, and past the tied Shaun Marcum and Bob Wickman, into sole possession of 37th place on the all-time list.

Estrada picked up his 10th career Win on Monday, April 8th against the Chicago Cubs.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 15 9 2 4 5
G 100 94 4 2 43
GS 50 32 4 14 23
CG 5 0 0 5 0
SHO 5 0 0 5 0
SV 5 0 0 5 0
IP 500.0 262.1 24.0 213.2 138.1
K 300 263 25 12 143
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
W 17 9 6 2-way tie 50
G 132 79 49 2-way tie 50
GS 43 31 8 3-way tie 48
CG 3 0 3 11-way tie 45
SHO 1 0 1 28-way tie 36
SV 4 0 4 2-way tie 49
IP 331.0 242.1 64.2 Gene Brabender 50
K 273 244 4 John Axford 36

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Mike Fiers

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 10 9 0 1 9
G 50 25 3 22 23
GS 25 22 1 2 22
CG 5 0 0 5 0
SHO 5 0 0 5 0
SV 5 0 0 5 0
IP 150 129.2 7.1 14.1 127.2
K 150 137 1 12 135
Stat Next Team Top 50 Milestone Career Total as a Brewer thru 2012 Needed to Achieve Next Team Top 50 Milestone Holder Current Holder’s All-Time Position
W 17 9 8 2-way tie 50
G 132 25 104 2-way tie 50
GS 43 22 20 3-way tie 48
CG 3 0 3 11-way tie 45
SHO 1 0 1 28-way tie 36
SV 4 0 4 2-way tie 49
IP 331 129.2 194.0 Gene Brabender 50
K 215 137 77 Gene Brabender 50

—

Burke Badenhop

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 20 16 0 4 7
G 250 217 8 25 66
SV 5 2 1 2 1
IP 350.0 313.0 5.0 32.0 72.0
K 250 232 6 12 57

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Tom Gorzelanny

Gorzelanny appeared in his 200th MLB game on Sunday, April 14th.

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 50 44 0 6 14
G 250 193 9 48 45
SV 5 2 0 3 1
IP 750.0 735.0 7.2 7.1 201.2
K 600 568 6 26 135

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Mike Gonzalez

Stat Next Personal Milestone Career thru 2012 2013 Total Needed to Achieve Player’s Best Season
W 20 17 0 3 5
G 450 434 8 8 80
SV 75 56 0 19 24
IP 400.0 394.1 3.2 2.0 74.1
K 500 451 5 44 90

—

Okay then. Is there anybody else you’d like to know more about? Leave their name in the comments!
—

* – If a milestone is achieved on a given day I’ll update ASAP but if not then I can’t guarantee updating every day.

Doug Melvin Interview Transcript – Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Doug Melvin, General Manager of our beloved Milwaukee Brewers, was on the radio this afternoon on AM 1250 WSSP in SE Wisconsin for a few minutes talking about his off-season plans.

Here is a transcript of the interview (which you can listen to by clicking here):

On speculation connecting the Brewers to certain players (i.e. Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke):

“Well, I don’t think those are the names that were gonna be involved with. I think this is gonna be a year we’ll take a look at the free agent market, but more than likely I don’t anticipate us being actively involved in free agency. We may try to find different ways to improve our ball club. We do like the current club we have. We were 36-23 with the third best record in the National League after August 1st with some of the young pitchers we brought up. We do have most positional guys back so I wouldn’t get too excited about those kinds of names. I think a lot of it is speculation. It often makes sense. This is the time of year when those kind of things happen.”

On having young pitching after years of waiting for some and if he may have to trade some of it away to acquire a proven starter:

“We feel right now there’s probably a better chance we’re going to hold onto our young pitching. We saw Mike Fiers come up last year. He struggled a little bit later (in the year). We saw Mark Rogers and Wily Peralta both come up with the power arms they showed us in the past. We had Tyler Thornburg. We’ve got Hiram Burgos who’s going to be added to the roster, had a very good year. We’ve had Taylor Jungmann who’s probably going to be at Double-A. We’ve got John Hellweg who’s pitched very well in the Fall League and was just picked by the scouting bureau as the best player on that Phoenix ball club. So, we do have some depth with our pitching. Jimmy Nelson we like; we’re very high on him. Nick Bucci (too) so. We’ve got a chance to have, out of 10 starters in Double-A and Triple-A, we have a chance to have 8 to 9 of them they’re gonna be legitimate prospects we think will pitch in the big leagues. The big league pitchers? It’s time to give Wily Peralta, time to give Mark Rogers that opportunity.”

In discussing fan support following a rough first half and the resultant decisions surrounding trading away Zack Greinke:

“Who’s not to say that if we kept Zack Greinke that we might’ve got back in this thing. You have to make some tough decisions sometimes. When a shortstop was included in a deal for Zack, we just had to make the decision at that particular time. … It’s a credit to Ron, the coaches, the players that they didn’t give up and it’s something that we can learn that in baseball you can be six, seven, eight games out and that can be made up in two weeks time. So, it’s a lesson we all can learn that sometimes you gotta be a little bit patient. It is a long season.”

Asked if there is any way Zack Greinke can be back in a Brewers uniform:

“I don’t know. I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. As much as Zack liked it here and enjoyed it here, there’s a couple clubs that are gonna get heavily involved with him. He is no doubt the number one pitcher out there…from the starting pitching standpoint. I think he’s gonna do very well but I would expect that we may get a phone call from his agent but I think in the end it’s going to be difficult for Zack to come back here to Milwaukee under the amount of money he’s probably gonna be offered.”

Asked if he would like to add a veteran starting pitcher and if any free agents intrigue him:

“Yeah, there’s a few names out there. Obviously we’re gonna lose Marcum and we’re gonna lose Greinke so we’ve talked about adding a starting pitcher. We do have to add to our bullpen too. Edwin Jackson’s another name that’s been out there.  I don’t know where he’s headed or what his thought process is. We do have an opportunity; we can go with the current guys we have. The tough part with that is that any kind of injury, then you really tap into not having the depth that’s needed over the course of 162 games. Going with the younger guys and Yovani, Marco Estrada, Mike Fiers, Rogers, Wily Peralta, Chris Narveson will be back and be healthy. The part of that is you really cross your fingers that everybody’s going to stay healthy and everybody’s gonna produce. So you would like to have a veteran that you could put out there in the rotation that could eat up a couple hundred innings, but you also want quality innings. In the past, we’ve had the Jeff Suppan, Randy Wolf. They both came in here when we didn’t have the younger pitching and they gave us innings and that but obviously you’d like to get the quality. Pitching takes a long time to develop.”

On Manny Parra and fans growing impatient:

“He’s on the roster now and we’ll wait and see. I can’t indicate at this time, but…there comes a time when changes of scenery do help players and that happens sometimes. That’s what we’ve talked about before and if you look at Manny’s numbers and break them down, the numbers are there. You’d like to see more consistent performance, so you know, there’s a possibility. Manny right now’s on our roster at this time and we’ll wait and see.”

On arbitration, bullpen changes:

“I think you’ll probably see three to four new faces out there. I think John Axford, Jim Henderson, I think Brandon Kintzler pitched well enough that he can step in and perform in one of those roles. We would like to maybe try to get a left-hander but we also want a left-hander of quality if we can otherwise we’ll just stay right-handed. But I can see where you could turn three or four names over in that bullpen. Also with the starting pitchers there’s going to be one of those guys that will lose out (on a rotation spot) and will probably go to the bullpen and be a long guy.”

On Axford sticking as closer in 2013:

“I’d like to think that John can. As I said in the press conference at the end of the year, he had two months where he had more than one blown Save. He does strike out people. His strike out rate is still one of the best in the game. His walk rate was too high this year and he needs to get that back down. I do like having a closer and a guy in the bullpen that’s gonna strike people out. I think that’s important. That’s why I like a closer that’s gonna get strikeouts so I lean a little bit towards (Axford) but they also have to reduce the walks. We’re confident, in John, the stuff is still there but gonna have to improve on his command and control.”

On how he feels about the hitters:

“We look at it and we feel pretty good about the ball club we put out positional-wise. Offensively, it’s a pretty good ball club. It fits both what Doug Melvin looks for and what Ron Roenicke looks for. I’m a home run and doubles guy and Ron likes the aggressive style. We fulfilled both those (philosophies) leading the leagues in home runs and also stolen bases we were first or second. We were very aggressive on the bases scoring runs, second in the league in sacrifice bunts. We scored runs in a lot of different ways. I do believe with our ballpark we’re always gonna be a team that’s gonna rely on the home runs just because of the facility we play in and that. But I’m pleased with the positional aspect of our game. I think I’m more than pleased in the fact that Maldonado coming on the scene we’re very set at catching. Having a young shortstop in Jean Segura, being young up the middle with catching, shortstop, Rickie bounced back, and then Carlos Gomez in center field. Carlos is a five-plus guy so we’ve gotta determine is Carlos is here over the long haul or is he here for (only) one more year.”

On Alex Gonzalez possibly returning:

“We’ve gotta make that decision yet. Alex is a free agent so he could test the market too. When it comes down to asking players, when you’re a free agent, he’s gonna want to know his playing time. How much time is he gonna play or do we view him as an extra guy and are we going with Segura. We have to answer that question. Jean is playing winter ball right now and is hitting almost .400 and he hit very well the month of September for us. We’re pretty high on (Segura) at this point. We can go with Jean Segura. We just want to make sure that is the right thing to do. Alex would love to return to us but it’s probably going to be about playing time. ‘Are we the right fit for him?’ And if you do bring Alex back, what impact does that have on Jean Segura? We haven’t made that final call yet. Right now we’re probably leaning toward Segura and just letting Jean do the job because we do think the resources are going to be needed for pitching.”

On Josh Hamilton again:

“No. There’s nothing going on. If he wants to sign that “Andre Dawson” contract…that $500 thousand contract that Andre Dawson did for the Cubs. I think it’s about time a player did that so I’m waiting for that one.”

On any off-season proclamation like he did in 2010 before acquiring Greinke and Marcum by stating he was going to go get some pitching:

“I don’t have any right now. I gotta go check the piggy bank.”

—

Alright, Brewer Nation. What do you think of what the GM had to say today?

How I’d Have the Brewers Finish Up the Season – Guest Blog

It’s been quite a while since someone wrote on the blog here other than me, the primary author. This was submitted by my podcast co-host for your enjoyment back near the beginning of August. My crazy schedule led to my forgetting to get it posted until now.

With that said, certain information is “as of writing” and should be taken as such (i.e. Izturis wasn’t yet traded).

By: Cary Kostka

The Brewers were selling in the days leading up the non-waiver trade deadline sending us all on a “what now” path for the rest of this season, as well as what to look for next season. Although this is largely seen as a step backwards for the organization, I see this as an opportunity for the team to be better down the road.

The Brewers have the next couple of months to evaluate their current roster and newly acquired players, and like most Brewer fans I have my own theory as to how the next couple of months should play out.

I broke it down into the following categories: starting pitching, bullpen, catching, infield, and outfield.

Starting Pitching:

The injuries we have seen over the course of the season have given us long looks at Marco Estrada and Mike Fiers, as well as a touch of Tyler Thornburg mixed in.

The Brewers acquired a couple of arms in the Zack Greinke deal, and a bullpen arm in the George Kottaras deal. But what will the rotation look like for now?

Below I have two rotations: one for August, and one for September. You will notice that the September rotation has six pitchers listed. This is not a mistake on my part…I see a 6 man September rotation as a great way to take a look at some additional young arms. With Shaun Marcum’s impending free agency and Randy Wolf’s option possibly not being picked up, the make-up of the 2013 rotation is in the air.

So, here are my projected rotations (not in any particular order) for the rest of 2012.

August rotation: Yovani Gallardo, Wolf, Estrada, Fiers, Marcum/Mark Rogers.

Marcum is still a question mark at this point, and him being moved to the 60-day DL means that he will not be available until the last third of August. He has been feeling good in simulated outings, so I would imagine he would be back in time for a late August start.

September rotation: Gallardo, Wolf, Marcum, Estrada, Fiers, Rogers/Wily Peralta.

Go to a 6-man rotation in September, and in the 6th spot, alternate starts between Peralta and Rogers. Peralta has been pitching much better lately for Nashville (5-2, 3.06 ERA in his last 10 starts).

With his arm fatigue, Thornburg would be best served spending September on the bench or in limited bullpen duty.

Bullpen:

What a thorn in the side of the 2012 season this bunch turned out to be. Let’s face it; the bullpen was a heaping load of mediocrity this year.

Try to deal K-Rod if you can…if not, park him at the ass end of the bullpen. I think John Axford will be fine, and a new bullpen coach will help here. The loss of veterans LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito hurt him this year, as he leaned on both of them for advice and instruction (Hawkins in particular).

Below is how the roles should shake out for both August and September.

August:

Closer: Axford and Jim Henderson. Keep throwing Ax out there, but let Henderson continue to get work in as a closer.
Setup/General Relief: Whatever the situation dictates.
Lefty Specialist: Manny Parra Longman/mop-up: Livan Hernandez

September:

Same as August, except you add Rogers and Peralta to the bullpen mix when they are between starts. Park K-Rod and Hernandez on the bench, and let’s see what our newly acquired arms (Pena, Hellweg, and De Los Santos) can do. Thornburg could help here as well, but that depends on how his arm is responding to rest. I’d like to see how Rogers would do in the setup role.

Catchers:

Ok, so this one is easy.

Lucroy is back, but I say split his playing time with Maldonado 60/40. Catchers are the baseball equivalent to NFL running backs; they have short shelf lives due to constant wear and tear. There is no sense in “using up” Lucroy in a non-playoff season. Also, this gives Maldonado a great chance to continue his growth. This pair will be one of the best catching tandems in baseball next season.

Infield:

Corey Hart is here to stay as our first baseman at least for this season. With Aramis Ramirez entrenched at third, the big questions arise in the middle of the infield.

Rickie Weeks has had just shy of two months of production this year, and shortstop had been ok defensively but a black hole in the lineup, sans Cody Ransom’s innate ability to seemingly make every one of his few and far between hits a game changer.

My thoughts on this are to send Izturis packing…he is not a long term option, and the team would be better off if newly acquired Jean Segura was promoted and started. Jeff Bianchi would be called up on September 1st, and would see some time at short as well.

At second, we’re basically stuck. Would the team be able to find a place on the 25-man roster for Eric Farris? I’d like to see what he’s got, though he projects as more of a backup type player. I would like to see Taylor Green get more playing time to get a better feel for what he is capable of, or not capable of doing. I feel this is something the team needs to know going into next season.

Mat Gamel will be a question mark next season, and if Green shows he can hit, 1B could be a little less of a question mark in spring training, and would allow the team to confidently move Hart back to right. Hart has done pretty well at first, but next season will be the final year of his contract. It would be good to know our other options at that first.

I have heard speculation about giving Green more time at second, but that would be a mistake given his concrete boot like range at second.

Travis Ishikawa maintains his current role on the team.

Outfield:

Trade or waive Nyjer Morgan. He does not have a place on this team at all. I would much rather see Caleb Gindl or Logan Schafer get some MLB trigger time.

Ryan Braun is a lock in left (duh).

The mechanical adjustments Carlos Gomez made recently have upped his game to a new level. Make him the sole starter in center and see where this takes him.

Norichika Aoki has played great and is a lock in right. Call up Gindl as a reserve outfielder, as he has logged double digit games in all three OF spots. Schafer gets the call up on September 1st.

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So, Brewer Nation, what say you?

Brewers First “Half” Ends With Win, Sunday’s News and Notes

Brewers Defeat Astros, Final: 5-3 (10 innings)

The first “half” of the regular season came to an end for the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon with a 5-3 Win in Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.

Zack Greinke started the game, his second in two days (more on that later), but a rough first inning saw the former Cy Young Award winner throw 39 pitches and allow three runs to score. Greinke settled down after the first but with a reduced pitch count was only able to get through three full innings (on 66 pitches) before being lifted for the day’s scheduled starter Marco Estrada.

Why did Greinke start consecutive days? That would be the direct result of being ejected from Saturday’s game after facing two hitters, and only throwing four pitches. Greinke was tossed after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Joe West. Something that will get you tossed every time.

Wait…what? That’s not what happened?

Then it must have been because he spat in an umpire’s face.

No?

Kicked dirt on an umpire’s shoes.

Really?

Of course I’m being facetious. Greinke was tossed because he spiked the baseball into the dirt after failing to cover first base quickly enough on a ground ball. Greinke was late getting over and the quick Jose Altuve tied him to the bag. First base umpire Sam Holbrook called Altuve safe (the right call) and Greinke, mad at himself for getting over late, threw the ball down in disgust. Holbrook, who isn’t exactly known for his patient temperament, sent Greinke to the showers.

Anyway…after such a short outing (and no scheduled plans for Tuesday), Greinke offered to come back and start Sunday’s game. He did just that, struggled through the first inning, but left on a positive note when he struck out the side in a perfect third inning.

Estrada entered and allowed only one baserunner on a walk, but who was retired on a double-play. Therefore, Estrada faced the minimum through three innings of work. He was lifted for Jose Veras who was then followed by Francisco Rodriguez, each of who worked perfect innings in the 7th and 8th respectively.

The Brewers had tied it up by the 9th inning when Manny Parra entered and worked a clean frame to send the game into extra innings.

That ended up being just “extra inning” however as the Brewers plated a pair despite leaving the bases loaded.

John Axford entered the game and, though allowing a couple of baserunners, closed the door for his 15th Save of the 2012 season.

The victory gave the Brewers a series victory and saw them end the first “half” of the year with a record of 40 Wins against 45 Losses.

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Gennett Participates in Futures Game

Gennett entered the game in the 5th inning but still managed to amass four plate appearances, which is reflected in the fact that Team USA scored 17 runs in a rout of Team World.Brewers prospect Scooter Gennett didn’t start, but did finish the 2012 All-Star Futures Game which was played on Sunday night in Kaufmann Stadium which will host the All-Star Game on Tuesday night.

The final box score for “Scooter”:

AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG
3 2 1 0 1 0 0 .333

The hit was a double, and Gennett scored both times he reached based for Team USA.

Gennett was the only Brewers representative in the Futures Game this year.

—

Taylor Green Optioned to Nashville

After the big league game ended, utility man Taylor Green was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville in a move designed to give the former organizational Minor League Player of the Year some playing time.

While up with the parent club, Green got chances but they came spottily at best and barely at all once Corey Hart was basically permanently moved to first base defensively.

Green needs the chance to play every day and to get some swings. He’s only had four plate appearances all month and hasn’t logged a hit since June 26th, not coincidentally his last start.

The team stated that they would call up a bat in time for Friday to replace Green on the roster, but they did not name the player who would be coming. Chances are it will be a middle infielder as they are covered quite well in the outfield and at the infield corners.

Based on 40-man roster implications, my money would be on second baseman Eric Farris who is the only infielder at Nashville currently on that roster. Farris also would offer a right-handed hitting option off the bench in games where manager Ron Roenicke starts nearly all right-handed hitters. Previously, the bench options would have been lefties Nyjer Morgan, George Kottaras, Green, and switch-hitting Cesar Izturis who is cover-your-eyes awful from the right side.

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Greinke Slated to Start Friday

Zack Greinke will be making Brewers history this coming Friday, assuming he makes his scheduled start at Miller Park.

More than that, he’ll be doing something that hasn’t been done since 1917!!

If Greinke makes the start as planned, he’ll be starting three consecutive games for a team in the same season. This feat was last performed 95 years ago by Hall of Fame pitcher Red Faber who did it for the White Sox. Faber’s three games were a bit different than what Greinke’s All-Star-break-aided trio will be though.

Faber started both games of a double-header (he got shelled in both leading to short outings) and then threw a complete game, 16-hitter (only 3 runs!) the next day.

Still, starting three consecutive games in the same season is a feat unmatched since.

Leave it to Zack Greinke (credit Holbrook with the assist?) to challenge history.

Milwaukee Brewers Uniform Number History: #43

Wondering who wore a certain uniform number all-time for the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Brewer Nation has got you covered. If you found this list on its own, head back here for the full repository after checking out this one.

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#43

John O’Donoghue (’70)
Gary Ryerson (’72-’73)
Larry Anderson (’75)
Rick Austin (’75-’76)
Randy Stein (’78)
Paul Mitchell (’79-’80)
Chuck Porter (’81-’85)
Dave Stapleton (’87-’88)
Mike Young (’88)
Randy Veres (’89-’90)
Jim Hunter (’91)
Mark Kiefer (’93-’96)
Doug Jones (’96-’98)
Joe Hudson (’98)
Jim Pittsley (’99)
Matt Childers (’02)
Dave Burba (’03-’04)
Justin Lehr (’05-’06)
Manny Parra (’07-’08)
R.J. Swindle (’09)
Randy Wolf (’10-’12)

Milwaukee Brewers Uniform Number History: #26

Wondering who wore a certain uniform number all-time for the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Brewer Nation has got you covered. If you found this list on its own, head back here for the full repository after checking out this one.

—

#26

Bobby Coluccio (’73-’75)
Bill Sharp (’75-’76)
Dick Davis (’77-’80)
Kevin Bass (’82)
Bob Skube (’83)
Andy Beene (’83-’84)
Willie Lozado (’84)
Brian Giles (’85)
Glenn Braggs (’86-’90)
Tim McIntosh (’90-’93)
Juan Bell (’03)
Jeff Cirillo (’94-’99)
Kyle Peterson (’01)
Marcus Jensen (’02)
Wayne Franklin (’02-’03)
Matt Wise (’04)
Damian Miller (’05-’07)
Hernan Iribarren (’08)
Manny Parra (’09-’10, ’12)
Kyle Lohse (’13-’15)
Taylor Jungmann (’16-Current)